Method for cleaning poultry cloaca during evisceration procedure



J1me 1964 F. H. INE 3,137,031

METHOD FOR CLEANING POULTRY CLOACA DgRING EVISCERATION PROCEDURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 15,

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INVENTOR.

Frank H. Ine

June 16, 1964 F. H. lNE 3,137,031 METHOD FOR CLEANING POULTRY CLOACA DURING EVISCERATION PROCEDURE Original Filed Nov. 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Frank H. Ine

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United States Patent 4 Claims. (Cl. 17-45) This invention relates to the evisceration of poultry, and more particularly, relates to a method of flushing the cloaca and lower intestinal tract of poultry during the evisceration process. This application is filed as a division of my copending application Serial No. 69,324, filed November 15, 1960.

General practice in commercial poultry eviscerating lines involves the de-feathering of the fowl which are then moved suspended from conveyor lines through various eviscerating stations. It is generally considered preferred practice to make a horizontal evisceration cut across the abdomen of the bird slightly aft of the end of the keelthe cut usually being one and a half to two inches in length and from which the viscera from the abdominal cavity of the bird is removed. However, prior to removal of viscera from the cavity, it is conventional practice to make a circular cut or incision around the vent opening to disengage the vent from the skin of the bird, and so that when the stomach and intestines of the bird are removed throught the horizontal evisceration cut, the vent and its attached cloaca can be pulled out through the horizontal cut.

To prevent fecal matter in the vent or cloaca from extruding from the vent and contacting and soiling any part of the birds body or abdominal cavity during the evisceration process, it is current practice for an operator to manually strip or milk the cloaca to extrude therefrom fecal matter prior to removing the viscera through the horizontal evisceration cut. Milking of the cloaca is usually done while the bird is moving suspended from a conveyor chain and at a station that includes several shower spray nozzles which operate to wash oif and filth that may accumulateon the outside of the bird adjacent the vent area. The actual stripping or milking process is done by the operator placing the fingers of one hand inside the horizontal evisceration cut and squeezing the large intestine and cloaca to cause the fecal matter to be extruded therefrom and to drop down into a suitable depository and/or to be washed away by the spray nozzle. This hand milking process normally removes only a small percentage of the intestinal contents and frequently, the practice is not eflicient enough to prevent contamination of the bird during a later stage of the evisceration process. More specifically, after the vent is cut and the cloaca milked, the vent and intestine, or cloaca, are passed under the bar strap, which is the strap of flesh and skin formed between the horizontal evisceration cut and the vent out. If there is any leaking or extrusion of fecal matter from the vent during this process or any subsequent step in the evisceration process, the bird is deemed contaminated and is not considered fit for human consumption until it has been given extra attention and thoroughly cleansed. Government inspectors will normally condemn birds that still have a stain after they have been given a special washing, and this, in turn, requires the cutting away of the bar strap entirely which effectively spoils the style of packaging most generally used. Heretofore, operators have sought to reduce losses or poultry and/or loss of time and labor due to inadequate milking of the cloaca, by slowing up operations at this stage of the line, or by putting on additional 3,137,031 Patented June 16, 1964 operators, either of which alternatives is self-defeating whenv one considers the objectives sought to be obtained in the first instance. Some processors refuse to handle birds that show anysigns of diarrhea. This causes flock owners to market their birds, regardless of market conditions, on showing any signs of illness that may lead to diarrhetic conditions in the flock. Generally speaking, the problem of cleansing the vent and cloaca regions of poultry constitutes a significant problem to which the present invention is believed to provide a substantially complete practical solution.

Briefly stated, the present invention includes the concept of flushing the lower intestines or cloaca of a bird with water while selectively, and usually simultaneously, withdrawing from the intestines by pneumatic suction the flushing water introduced into the intestines along with fecal matter intermixed with the flushing Water.

The particular embodiment of a device useful in the practice of the method and which per se is believed to constitute a novel structure includes a frame supporting a tubular barrel which terminates in an outer open nozzle end of a particular construction and a vacuum valve gate cooperating therewith.

In the exemplary embodiment, the barrel houses a water and air discharge passage and a vacuum suction outlet passage, each selectively operable respectively to discharge water and air into or to exhaust waste material from the open nozzle end of the barrel. In operation, the nozzle end of the barrel is inserted through the vent into the cloaca of a bird and selectively controlled to discharge a preselected mixture of water and air through the nozzle into the cloaca and lower intestines, which is thereafter selectively withdrawn, along with entrained fecal matter, outwardly through the suction outlet passage housed within the barrel. The selectivity for the water-air application as well as the removal of the water and fecal matter is obtained by operation of a trigger controlling a suction valve gate and water-air valve.

By adjusting the actuating points of the valve assemblies it is possible to charge the intestinal cavity prior to opening the suction valve gate for removing the waste products. This has important advantages with respect to the successful processing of turkeys and similar poultry products. Practice of the invention permits the great majority of fecal matter to be removed from the cloaca and lower intestines of each bird without permitting any external extrusion or droppings to emerge through the vent opening to contact or soil the body of the bird.

A principal object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a novel method useful in the art of poultry evisceration capable of fulfilling the purposes and advantages hereinabove briefly mentioned. I

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel evisceration method involving the introduction of water and air into a localized body area, such as the cloaca, of a bird while substantially simultaneously withdrawing water and waste matter mixed with the water from the localized area and in such manner as to prevent either flushing water or eviscerated matter from contacting or soiling other body areas of the bird.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in eachof the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view cross-section of a device useful in the practice of the method according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the nozzle tip of the device;

FIG. 3 isan enlarged side cross-section view of the nozzle end of the device; 7 FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3 to illustrate the orientation of the water-air and suction passages;

FIG. 5 is a view in cross-section taken along line 55 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the suction valve gate;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a bird in the process of evisceration and showing the horizontal evisceration cut and the circular vent opening cut; and

FIG. 7 is a perspecthive view at reduced scale illustrating the utility of the device herein described in place in the cloacal vent of a brd for the practice of the method according to the invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the reference character A indicates a frame or chassis on which is mounted a barrel and nozzle assembly indicated generally at B. The frame A is adapted for manual support and operation by virtue of a piston grip C. A pivotal trigger mechanism D is provided to actuate the water valve as sembly E and gate valve F.

The frame A is apertured at 11 and the lower body 12 of the frame A houses the water valve mechanism E.

The assembly heretofore indicated generally at B comprises, more specifically, an outer tubular barrel 13 the base end of which is supported in the forward end of aperture 11 and held securely therein by one or more set screws 15. Slidably mounted on the barrel is a stop flange or annular abutment 24 which can be adjustably positionedin fixed relation along the barrel by tightening of a set screw (not shown). Positioning of the stop member 20 can be used to determine the extent of maximum desired insertion of the device into the vent opening of the bird as will be later described. The outer end of the barrel 13 is fitted with a nozzle tip 14, the latter being formed with a plurality of rod like members 16 tapered to a point at their forward end. The end 17 of a water-air discharge tube 19 is positioned interior of and immediately adjacent the common end of rods 16.

The inner end of the nozzle tip 14 is welded or otherwise afiixed to the open end of the barrel 13.

The barrel 13 constitutes a suction outlet and encloses the Water-air discharge tube 19. The other end 18 of the frame A which forms the rear end of the barrel 13 is connected to an enlarged hose coupler 22 which is centrally bored as at 23 in communication and fixedly secured within frame A by suitable set screw (not shown). The rearward projecting extremities of coupler 22 provide a means by which the end of a flexible suction base 26 may be clamped as at 27.

The vacuum control gate valve F includesa pair of vertical guide plates 24 on each side of which are extended the tines of control member 25 which form a part of the trigger D and controls the raising and lowering of valve plate 28. The exemplary valve is described in more detail in my Patent 2,723,831 which issued on November 15, 1955. Suffice it here to note that when the control member is caused to move upwardly by depressing the trigger D, the valve plate 28 is moved upwardly to open the suction outlet and when the trigger is released, the plate 28 closes 01f the suction outlet.

The inner end of water-air discharge pipe 19 emerges from the inner end of the barrel and is connected into valve chamber 29 of the valve assembly heretofore indicated generally at E.

The valve assembly E comprises, in addition to chamber 29, a valve stem 31 which is reciprocally supported Within the reduced portion of the chamber 29 by O-rings 32 so as to move valve head 33 carried by the stem into and out of engagement with the reduced valve seat portion of the chamber 29. A spring 34 mounted in chamber 29a normally biases the valve head 33 to seated position to shut off flow of water and air from the Y-connector 35 via chamber 29 into barrel 19. The valve head and its associated stem 31 may be reciprocated to open and closed positions by trigger D pivotally mounted to frame A by pin 37 and in contact with the outer end 31a of the stem which projects through a suitable retaining nut or packing gland 38. Stated otherwise, the squeezing of trigger D toward handle C depresses stem 31 causing the valve head 33 to move away from seated position and permit water and air to flow from the inlet hose 356a and 3617 around the valve head into the chamber 29 and thence through pipe 19 for discharge through opening 17 adjacent the nozzle tip 14. The overall operation of the device will now be described with reference to a description of how the unit may be used in the practice of the method of cleaning poultry cloaca according to the present invention.

Referring now more specifically to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is illustrated a partially processed bird, such as a turkey, which has been de-feathered and which has had its feet cut off at the hock joints. FIG. 6 shows the horizontal evisceration cut 41 as having been made in the abdomen of the bird immediately aft of the keel 42 of the bird. The circular vent cut 42 is indicated as also having been made circumscribing the vent opening 43. The area of skin and flesh designated at 44 is normally termed the bar strap. In general practice,,after the two cuts 41 and 42 have been made and after the cloaca (connecting to the vent 43) has been milked or stripped of fecal matter (either according to the conventional practice or according to the practices of the present invention) the vent is tucked under the skin defined by the bar strap 44. Practice of the present method will preferably occur in the process of evisceration prior to the making of the horizontal cut 41 or the vent cut 42, and which is also prior to removal of any viscera or to any handling or disturbance of the bowel regions of the bird;

As shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to insert into the vent opening the nozzle tip ll4 and outer end extremities of the barrel 13 of the eviscerating'device hereinabove described in detail. Normally the adjustable stop member 20 will, depending on its temporarily fixed location along the barrel 13, determine the extent of maximum penetration that the nozzle end of the unit will be inserted into the vent of the bird. FIG. 7 illustrates the nozzle tip and outer end of the barrel 13 of a unit inserted into the vent of the bird. In view of the fact that the barrel 13 is connected to a source of vacuum through vacuum control gate valve F the suction force adjacent the nozzle end may be controlled before, during, and after the insertion of the nozzle end of the device into the vent of the bird. The sequence of operation of the vacuum control gate valve F and valve 31 are interrelated by operation of trigger D to prevent the device from evacuating and collapsing the cloaca or lower intestines around the nozzle tip,'which would prevent flow of any materials through the opening adjacent rods 16, before a surge of air and water enters by way of tube 19. In normal practice, the trigger in being actuated first, turns on the water and air flow'as the nozzle tip 14 of the unit is inserted into the vent opening. Further movement of the trigger D opens the vacuum control gate valve F to effect flushing and purging of fecal matter in the cloaca and lower intestines, due to the ingress of water and air by way of tube 19.

The staggering of operation of the vacuum control gate valve F and water-air valve E is particularly helpful in evacuating large birds which have been breeders. These birds are generally characterized by intestinal walls that are stretched and distended and which lack the resiliency of the non-breeders. As a result, when such birds are cleaned and when the barrel is removed after cleaning, if the suction, resulting from an open-condition of vacuum control gate valve F, was continued beyond the flushing caused by the inflow of air and water through valve assembly E, there. would be a likelihood that the intestine would be sucked outa' fact which would no doubt result in contaminating the fowl. The staggering of the cycles avoids this.

The'opening's in between rods 16 are of a size smaller than the diameter of the barrel 13 to prevent the larger stones from the birds intestines to be drawn into the vacuum tube and cause it to be plugged or clogged. By making a series of smaller holes such as indicated at FIGURE 2 between rods 16, there is provided ample room for the passage of the Water and normal fecal matter without permitting the passage of large bodies of materials, particularly stones, that could cause clogging of the suction outlet line. 7

In a typical application, air at a pressure of 3 to 5 p.s.i., water at a pressure of 5 to 7 p.s.i. and a 12 to 15" vacuum cooperate to effectively obtain the benefits of the invention though other combinations will no doubt work satisfactorily.

In view of the fact that the discharge of water and the suction removal thereof occurs substantially simultaneously, it is possible to obtain a very complete and adequate flushing of the cloaca and lower intestines of a bird in a very rapid time. Further, because the nozzle end of the device may be inserted a substantial distance into the cloaca and intestines, when the device is re moved from the vent, there is little'practical chance of there remaining any fecal matter that can drip from the vent opening to contact or soil the surrounding body regions of the bird.

Afterthe cloaca and lower intestines have been flushed as aforesaid, the nozzle is removed and the vent cut 42 and horizontal cut 41 can be made without'substantial likelihood of fecal matter soiling the bird. Upon making of the cuts 41 and 42, the evisceration of the bird can be accomplished according to the usual practices.

The particular type of vacuum source to which the suction hose 26 may be connected and through which the fecal matter is withdrawn has not been hereinabove specifically shown or described for the reason that the same does not per se constitute any part of the present invention. In this connection it has been common prior art practice in many eviscerating plants to employ vacuum nozzles to remove the lungs, for example, from the body cavities of birds. In such installations the lungs of the birds are sucked through a nozzle gun (such as the type disclosed in' U.S. Patent No. 2,723,831) and then through a flexible vacuum conduit or hose to a vacuum collecting tank. The upper chamber space of such tanks is connected to a primary vacuum source (such as a vacuum pump) and the bottom of the tank is adapted to' collect the lungs and other eviscerated material-suitable openings being provided for periodically cleaning out the collected materials from the tank. It has been found that conventional vacuum tanks of the type briefly mentioned above and as presently employed in many commercial eviscerating plants will Work very satisfactorily in reference to devices embodying the present invention.

steps of: prior to removal of viscera from the abdominal cavity flushing the lower intestines of the bird with water while simultaneously withdrawing from said intestines by pneumatic suction said flushing Water and fecal matter intermixed therewith.

2. In the art of eviscerating poultry involving the removal of viscera through a cut formed in the abdominal region of the carcass, the method which comprises the steps of introducing an air and water mixture into the lower intestine of the bird, withdrawing the air and water along with the fecal matter intermixed therewith during the continuance of the introducing step, terminating the withdrawing step while continuing the introduc ing step, then terminating the introducing step, and then removing the viscera from the bird. 7

3. A method of cleaning the cloaca of poultry comprising the steps of providing a tube insertable in the cloacal vent opening of the poultry, inserting the tube in the cloacal vent opening of the poultry, introducing an air-water mixture into the cloaca through the tube, applying suction to the tube to withdraw the air and water along with the fecal matter intermixed therewith during the continuance of the introducing step, terminating the suction applying step while continuing the introducing step, then terminating the introducing step, and then removing the tube.

4. A method of eviscerating poultry comprising the steps of providing a tube insertable in the cloacal vent opening of the poultry, inserting the tube in the cloacal vent opening of the poultry, introducing an air-water mixture into the cloaca through the tube, applying suction to the tube to withdraw the air and water along with the fecal matter intermixed therewith during the continuance of-the introducing step, terminating the suction applying step while continuing the introducing step, then terminating the introducing step, and then cutting the abdomen of the poultry to expose the viscera and making a cut circumscribing the cloacal vent opening, and removing the viscera through the cut in the abdomen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Howe Jan. 7, 1958 

1. IN THE ART OF EVISCERATING POULTRY INVOLVING THE REMOVAL OF VISCERA THROUGH A CUT FORMED IN THE ABDOMINAL REGION OF THE CARCASS, THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF: PRIOR TO REMOVAL OF VISCERA FROM THE ABDOMINAL CAVITY FLUSHING THE LOWER INTESTINES OF THE BIRD WITH WATER WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWING FROM SAID INTESTINES BY 